The Conversation

How electroconvulsive therapy heals the brain − new insights into ECT, a stigmatized yet highly effective treatment for depression

Written by Sydney E. Smith, Ph.D. Candidate in Computational Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego

Electroconvulsive therapy involves inducing a controlled seizure under anesthesia.Inkoly/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When most people hear about electroconvulsive therapy, or ECT, it typically conjures terrifying images of cruel, outdated and pseudo-medical procedures. Formerly known as electroshock therapy, this perception of ECT as dangerous and...

Sandra Day O’Connor's experience as a legislator guided her consensus-building work on the Supreme Court

Written by Nancy Maveety, Professor of Political Science, Tulane University

Sandra Day O’Connor, shortly after her Supreme Court nomination was confirmed by the Senate on Sept. 1, 1981. AP Photo/Scott Applewhite

When Sandra Day O’Connor stepped down from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006, she was the last justice to have served as an elected legislator. She previously was a member of the Arizona state Senate and...

Tuberville ends holdout on most high-ranking military nominations

Written by Brooks D. Simpson, Foundation Professor of History, Arizona State University

Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol in November 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

After holding up the promotions or new assignments of several hundred senior officers for nearly a year, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville relented to pressure from both GOP and Democratic Senate members and ended most of his campaign agains...

Book explores how colleges seek to increase racial diversity without relying on race in college admissions

Written by Lauren Foley, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Western Michigan University

Will commitments to diversity be enough?fstop123

When the Supreme Court outlawed the use of race in college admissions in June 2023, it forced colleges and universities to rethink how to maintain and increase diversity in their student bodies. It’s a topic that political science professor Lauren Foley had been exploring in her new book,...

Citizen science projects tend to attract white, affluent, well-educated volunteers − here's how we recruited a more diverse group to identify lead pipes in homes

Written by Danielle Lin Hunter, Postdoctoral Scholar in Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University

A lead pipe in the kitchen ceiling of a home in Newark, N.J.AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Recruiting participants for a citizen science project produced a more diverse group when people were signed up through partner organizations, such as schools and faith-based organizations, than when they joined on their own. We used this approach to recruit volunteers...

Preguntar a las personas con pérdida de memoria sobre las vacaciones pasadas puede ayudarles a recordar momentos felices

Written by Michael R. Nadorff, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mississippi State University

Pedir a una persona con problemas de memoria que cuente anécdotas de vacaciones pasadas puede ayudar a desencadenar un recuerdo feliz.Lucky Business/Shutterstock.com

A mucha gente le encantan las vacaciones porque son un momento para crear recuerdos felices con los seres queridos.

Pero, ¿y si pudieras hacer algo que ayudara a...

5 lecciones de marketing del romance entre Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce

Written by Angeline Close Scheinbaum, Dan Duncan Endowed Professor of Sports Marketing.Associate Professor of Marketing, Clemson University

Las gradas de los partidos de los Kansas City Chiefs tienen un aspecto diferente al de antes.Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images

¿Qué ocurre cuando se unen la mayor estrella del pop del mundo y un bicampeón de la Super Bowl? Un montón de emoción, como ha demostrado el romance de Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce. Pero...

Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically − but the same is true of Christmas

Written by Samira Mehta, Associate Professor of Women and Gender Studies & Jewish Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Candles on a large Hanukkah menorah shine in front of a Christmas tree at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, in 2015.Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images

Hanukkah is not the Jewish Christmas. Articles and op-eds in newspapers remind readers of that fact every year, lamenting that the Jewish Festival of Lights has almost become an...

'Inert' ingredients in pesticides may be more toxic to bees than scientists thought

Written by Jennie L. Durant, Research Affiliate in Human Ecology, University of California, Davis

A honeybee approaches a sunflower at Wards Berry Farm in Sharon, Mass.John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Bees help pollinate over a third of the world’s crops, contributing an estimated US$235 billion to $577 billion in value to global agriculture. They also face a myriad of stresses, including pathogens and parasites, loss of...

How a thumb-sized climate migrant with a giant crab claw is disrupting the Northeast's Great Marsh ecosystem

Written by David Samuel Johnson, Associate Professor of Marine Sciences, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Male fiddler crabs are small, with one oversized claw.David S. Johnson

Nine years ago, I stood on the muddy banks of the Great Marsh, a salt marsh an hour north of Boston, and pulled a thumb-sized crab with an absurdly large claw out of a burrow. I was looking at a fiddler crab – a species that wasn’t supposed to be north of Cape Cod,...